Graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister's The Happy Showplayfully weaves typography, video and music, and interactive displays into a carnival of experience that had us smiling from start to finish (Andrew Kim has an excellent opening night roundup). One of my favorites from the show was a cityscape of words connected to a camera; the facial-recognition camera could register when you'd smile, rewarding your warmest feelings with an illuminated message. (video above)

Similar in spirit and interaction between people and machine, We Are Matik’s “Smile-Bot” was designed with the concept of happiness at the heart of its existence. The 7 feet tall, 4 foot wide friendly-looking wooden robot is equipped with a custom application and Arduino hardware within, connected to four cameras mounted inside the Smile-bot to monitor faces for smiles peeking within (it's been programmed with a custom "smile detecting algorithm"!). It's all quite an endearing display, with a color changing RGB LED spectrum registering the participant’s smile from the outside while a colorful rainbow emerges across the miniature world inside.